Photo Credit: South Australian Cricket Association
Former Australian and South Australian bowler Ryan Harris is returning to where it all began, signing on as the West End Redbacks new assistant coach, with a focus on bowling.
This role became available after SACA restructured its Redbacks staffing and appointed Luke Butterworth as its Under 19 Premier Cricket Head Coach.
After starting his domestic career at South Australia, Harris went on to play 27 Test matches for Australia, taking 113 wickets at an average of 23.52 with his pace bowling, while taking another 44 wickets for Australia in One Day Internationals.
For both the Redbacks and Queensland, Harris played a total of 82 First-Class matches (303 wickets), 83 List A matches (123 wickets) and 64 T20 matches (81 wickets).
Since retiring, Harris has been involved in coaching around the country – as a High-Performance coach at the National Cricket Centre, as a bowling consultant for both the men’s and women’s National teams as well as the Under 19’s men’s side and most recently as Queensland Cricket’s Pathways Manager and Head Coach.
Harris said he is looking forward to working with what he believes is a promising squad.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to be able to come back to Adelaide and work with what I think is an exciting squad that South Australia have put together in the last couple of years,” Harris said.
“To get back to the organisation that gave me the opportunity to kick off my career is very exciting.
“For me personally, it’s a great chance to get into high performance cricket as a senior coach, I’ve been sitting just below that level in Queensland so it’s a great opportunity SACA has presented to me, for me to move back and do this job under Dizzy (Head Coach Jason Gillespie).
“I want to bring a feeling of confidence to the bowling group and make sure the whole group is a strong unit and playing the game to enjoy it – if we’re doing all those things, the results will look after themselves.
“I see success on the horizon down there and I want to be a part of it.”
West End Redbacks Head Coach Jason Gillespie said the squad is eager to welcome Harris back to the Redbacks.
“Ryan will bring a wealth of playing and coaching experience at both international and domestic level to our squad,” Gillespie said.
“Our bowling group especially will learn a lot from Ryan and we are excited to see the impact he will have on the squad moving forward.
“We are also really excited for Luke to be leading his own team, he has displayed all the right attributes and skills to manage and develop the Under 19 players, which are an important part of our system.”
Harris will begin his role at SACA on June 1.
